How Dirty Is Washington DC Compared To Other US Cities?

WASHINGTON, DC — While it’s not as bad as New York City, the crowds, air pollution, litter and pests prevalent on Washington, D.C., streets earned the city a place among the top metro areas in a recent survey of the dirtiest cities in the United States. The nation’s capital landed at No. 12 among U.S. cities rated by cleaning-services company Busy Bee. The company ranked 40 urban areas nationwide.

New York City earned a highest-in-the-nation score of 427.9 on Busy Bee’s "dirtiness index." Los Angeles-Riverside-San Bernadino, California, Chicago and Philadelphia rounded out the Top 5. At No. 12, Washington landed right behind Pittsburgh and just ahead of Atlanta on the list. Nearby Baltimore placed at No. 15 on the list.

"Plenty of people are drawn to cities because they offer job opportunities, cultural diversity, plentiful entertainment, optimum medical care, public transportation, a vibrant nightlife, and more … ," Busy Bee said in its report. "Of course, it’s not always a party. City life means traffic, crowds, litter, noise, pests, and lack of space. Factories and high concentrations of vehicles can lead to air pollution that can trigger a large variety of side effects."

The five categories used to determine the city scores are pest and litter data from the American Housing Survey, air pollution data from the Environmental Protection Agency and population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.